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KEEPING THE FAITH

What choice do we have? We have to believe in the keeper of the flame, Theo Epstein. He let Alex Gonzalez get away for a second time. The defensive whiz is now a Blue Jay where he’ll have to be content to battle for fourth place. Gonzalez also hit the ball well at the tail end of last season, which made the move a little baffling. The revolving door at shortstop continues to spin and this time has landed on Marco Scutaro, the 34 year old journeyman, who is supposed to keep the seat warm until 19 year old Jose Iglesias is ready to take over. The Sox couldn’t count on Jed Lowrie, the 25 year old with the gimpy wrist, to be their every day guy come April. Jed will be afforded the chance to win a roster spot at Spring Training, but the Sox, although they deny it, are desparately trying to “keep up with the Joneses” (the Yankees). Experts say that Scutaro is a better all-around player but I’m not convinced. The Boston papers spin it like it is the “key to the holy grail”, we shall see. Is Scutaro a better option than Nomar, Orlando, Edgar, Alex, Julio? They made an ill-fated run at Hanley Ramirez last season. That’d be too good to be true. At least on paper, the shortstop problem is solved. Ultimately, of greater concern, is the loss of Scouting Director, Jason McLeod. McLeod, the architect of the Sox recent drafts, has been named the assistant general manager in San Diego. He will report to general manager, Jed Hoyer, another former member of the Red Sox front office. In my mind, Jason is a very good baseball guy and a future GM himself. The Winter Meetings are on the horizon in Indianaoplis and should provide some interesting fodder for the grist mill. Will Boston celebrate the holidays with Holliday and/or Halladay in the fold? Will Massachusetts remain the Bay State? A lot of questions need to be answered and the time is drawing near. So, boys and girls, get out your pad and pen and write the nicest letter to Santa that you can.

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Went to a couple of movies the last couple of weeks. An enormous Steve Hyder thumbs up to “The Blind Side.” Sandra Bullock was awesome. As much as I love Robert DiNero, don’t waste your time or money on “Everybody’s Fine”. They’re not.

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